Sunday 5 February 2012 06.26 EST
First published on Sunday 5 February 2012 06.26 EST

Three Tibetans in south-west China have set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule, the latest in a series of self-immolations over the past year, according to media reports and an activist group.

The three set themselves ablaze on Friday in Seda county, known as Serthar in Tibetan, in Sichuan province, calling for freedom for Tibet and the return of the region's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, the Radio Free Asia news service said on Saturday.

One person died at the scene. The other two – Tsaptsai Tsering, 60, and Kyarel, 30 – were seriously injured, it said, citing unidentified sources. It said it could not identify the dead person. "Details are difficult to obtain due to the shutting down of communication lines in the area," a source told Radio Free Asia.

If confirmed, the incidents would bring to at least 19 the number of people who have set themselves on fire, mostly in traditionally Tibetan areas of Sichuan province. Most have called for Tibetan freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

The London-based activist group Free Tibet also reported the incidents. It did not provide any further details, adding only that there had been substantial increases in security forces in the area recently.

It has been difficult to get news from the area because the government limited communications after violent protests last month in Sichuan, where Tibetans protested against what they said were hardline Chinese policies.

Tibetan activist groups say at least six people were killed in the clashes . The Chinese government says two rioters died and 24 police officers and firefighters were injured when stone-throwing Tibetan separatists attacked police stations.

The violence and self-immolations come as China enters a sensitive period, with the leaders of the ruling Communist party due to change by the end of this year.

The government has condemned self-immolations and says recent violence in several counties in Sichuan, including Seda, was instigated by forces outside the country wanting to separate Tibet from China.

This has been the region's most violent period since 2008, when deadly rioting in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and spread to Tibetan areas in adjoining provinces. China responded by flooding the area with troops and closing Tibetan regions to foreigners for about a year.

Western reporters trying to visit that part of Sichuan in recent weeks have been turned away by security forces.